Date: 24/03/2010
Source: The Presidency
Title: SA: Zuma: Replies by the South African President to questions for oral reply, National Assembly

Honourable Speaker, let me begin by thanking you and the House
for allowing me to postpone the questions session last week so that
I could attend to the Zimbabwe peace process on the 17th and 18th
of March in Harare, Zimbabwe as the facilitator.

The time was well spent.

The leaders and parties agreed to a package of measures to be
implemented concurrently as per the decision of the SADC Troika in
Maputo.

The implementation of this package will certainly take the
process forward.

The leaders have instructed their negotiating teams to attend to
all outstanding matters during their deliberations on 25, 26 and 29
March and to report back to the Facilitator by the 31st of March.

I used the opportunity of attending the inauguration of the
President of Namibia over the weekend to brief the SADC Troika
chairperson, President Armando Guebuza of Mozambique, as well as
SADC chairperson, President Joseph Kabila of the Democratic
Republic of Congo.

We look forward to a speedy resolution of the impasse to ensure
the full implementation of the Global Political Agreement sooner.

1. Mr H T Magama (ANC) to ask the President of the Republic:
(a) What were the important outcomes of his engagements with the
British government and other stakeholders during his official visit
to the United Kingdom from 2 to 6 March 2010 and (b) how has the
visit strengthened bilateral relations with the United Kingdom?
NO761E

REPLY:

On the question of our visit to the United Kingdon, the most
important outcome was the consolidation and further strengthening
of the excellent relations that already exist between the two
countries.

There was specific emphasis on cooperation on our priorities
such as education, health, the fight against crime and creating
decent jobs.

The visit expressed unequivocally, our readiness to host the
2010 FIFA World Cup, and allayed fears regarding security around
the World Cup event.

In this regard, South Africa and the UK signed a Memorandum of
Understanding on Police and other Co-operation during the World
Cup.

We took more than 200 business people along to strengthen
economic ties, and underline the importance of this relationship.

They met with British companies to discuss opportunities in
various sectors.

Total trade between the two countries in 2008 was valued at 74
billion rand and the United Kingdom is South Africa's largest
foreign investor.

The meeting with the South Africa-UK Business Forum and other
public engagements provided an opportunity to reiterate
Government's position on nationalisation.

We reiterated that South Africa remains an attractive
destination for investment.

On education, the two countries will develop links between
Further Education and Training Colleges.

This will help South Africa to tackle unemployment through
skills development.

We are also going to establish a South Africa-UK Next Generation
Forum to deepen links between young people.

We resolved to work with FIFA and the Global Campaign for
Education in their 1 Goal campaign, aimed at harnessing the power
of the 2010 FIFA World Cup for the benefit of education for all.

This should be one of the greatest spin offs of the World Cup on
African soil.

I urge members of this House to support this worthwhile
campaign.

The UK re-affirmed its commitment to support the fight against
HIV/AIDS in South Africa and is supporting our public health system
in a new 25 million pound programme.

This is to enable the achievement of key targets such as cutting
mother to child transmission and halving new infections.

With regard to multilateral relations, we concurred that the UK
and South Africa will work together towards the reform of the
international financial institutions, to make them more effective,
accountable and legitimate.

We also welcomed UK support for permanent African representation
on the United Nations Security Council.

This will enable the UN Security Council to better address
issues of peace and security across the globe.

The UK and South Africa agreed to work together through the G20
and UN to make 2010 the year of action on combating poverty.

This would include agreement on a global action plan on the
Millennium Development Goals at the UN Summit in September 2010.

Both the UK and South Africa welcome the new High Level Advisory
Group on Climate Finance and call for developed countries to
provide finance from 2013.

The State Visit has shown that ties between South Africa and the
UK are getting stronger and we will continue to explore areas of
cooperation that will help us achieve our developmental goals.

2. The Leader of the Opposition (DA) to ask the President of
the Republic:

(1) Whether the review of state-owned entities which he had
announced recently will look at the impact of Government's
propensity to appoint only persons of a certain political
organisation on public entities; if not, why not; if so, what are
the further relevant details;

(2) Whether the findings will be tabled in Parliament; if not,
why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

(3) Whether the review will involve an assessment of each
individual state-owned entity; if not, why not; if so, what are the
relevant details;

(4) Why was the review of all state-owned entities not announced
in his State of the Nation Address?
NO605E

REPLY:

As Members would recall, the Medium Term Strategic Framework
(MTSF) which we released last year, states that we should integrate
State Owned Enterprises into our planning processes and improve the
monitoring and evaluation of their performance.

With that in mind, we have decided to set up a two-pronged
review of SOEs that will culminate in a united government position
on the role of SOEs in supporting government's developmental agenda
in the period ahead.

The two processes are complementary and will culminate in a
single synthesised report for consideration and decision-making by
Cabinet.

The first part of the review will be undertaken internally in
government under the leadership and oversight of the
Inter-Ministerial Committee that is co-chaired by Ministers Barbara
Hogan and Pravin Gordhan.

Broadly, this part of the review should make recommendations on
a number of issues, including:

1.How government can strengthen alignment between its
development objectives and the strategic role to be played by SOEs
in the economy in the period ahead;

2.Coordination of infrastructure investment by SOEs to ensure
that the country has the capacity ahead of demand and ensuring that
it is coordinated with the rollout of the required infrastructure;

3.How to ensure an effective and transparent regulatory process
for SOEs;

4.Strategies for utilising SOE investment as a means for
localisation and industrial development.

5. Revival of the role of state owned enterprises in skills
development and training.

The second part of the process will be undertaken by an
independent panel of experts assisting the Presidency and the
Inter-Ministerial task team.

The terms of reference are still being finalised.

It is however envisaged that this process will focus on amongst
other issues:

Reviewing current governance arrangements relating to SOEs in
South Africa.

Undertaking an audit of current practices regarding planning and
decision making within SOEs, as well as between SOEs and
government.

Undertaking a critical assessment of the role SOEs have played
in supporting government's development objectives

The two complementary streams of work will be overseen and
coordinated by the Presidency.

Once completed, the work will be submitted to the Presidency for
synthesis into a final report that will serve in Cabinet before its
recommendations are adopted and implemented as government policy.

In answering some of the specific questions raised by the
Honourable Leader of the Opposition, executives at state owned
entreprises are appointed on merit.

We have not yet considered the issue of the tabling of the
review in Parliament, but will do so once our initial processes
have been completed.

The main thrust of the SONA was to communicate the new outcomes
approach and the new way of doing things in government in order to
speed up service delivery and to change the way government works.

We did indicate as well that most of the detail of the work
would be in Departmental budget votes.

3. Ms A Mda (Cope) to ask the President of the Republic:
(1) Whether, in view of problems surrounding service delivery by
local government, he has called for an investigation into
allegations that several municipalities in Limpopo province awarded
contracts exceeding R140 million to a certain company (name
furnished); if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

(2) Whether he has been informed that building projects awarded
to the said company by the province and certain local governments
of Limpopo were not completed or collapsed; if so, what are the
relevant details;

(3) Whether he will instruct the inter-ministerial committee on
corruption to take urgent steps to ensure transparency of the
tender process so that communities can know who applied for a
tender, who had been appointed and why the tender was awarded to a
specific company; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant
details? NO720E

REPLY:

One of the key priorities of this Government is to fight crime
and corruption.

Since the fourth democratic administration took office in May
last year, there have been numerous examples of action taken in
pursuance of this priority.

It is essential that all cases are dealt with swiftly,
thoroughly and impartially.

Honourable members will appreciate that it is not appropriate
for the relevant agencies to announce the details of any cases
before investigations are completed.

It is important not to prejudice the cases, or to undermine the
rights of people concerned.

If any member of this House, or indeed any member of the public,
has information that would assist in the investigation of any
alleged corrupt activity, they are urged to provide that
information to the relevant authorities.

I have not been informed of the said building projects relating
to the company referred to.

The Inter-Ministerial Committee on Corruption will, as part of
its mandate, look at ways and means of improving tender processes
where necessary.

It will consider the work flowing from the Multi-Agency
Initiative on Supply Chain Management which is led by the National
Treasury.

Should there be areas that are identified that suggest a lack of
transparency in the procurement processes in Government; the matter
will surely be attended to.

It must be noted, however, that the problem with tender fraud
does not generally arise out of lack of transparency, but from
non-compliance with otherwise transparent policies.

All the recommendations from the team lead by the National
Treasury will be considered and decided upon.

4. Ms Z S Dubazana (ANC) to ask the President of the Republic:

To what extent did the measures contained in the Framework
Agreement that was announced in 2009 succeed in providing a safety
net for citizens who were worst affected by the impact of the
global economic crisis? NO762E

REPLY:

Honourable Member, the Framework Agreement that was concluded a
year ago between government and our social partners has provided
relief to many citizens that are affected by the global economic
crisis.

The measures that have been undertaken include the following:
In February 2009 government announced a 787 billion rand
infrastructure programme.

This was increased to 846 billion rand in the 2010 budget
speech.

Through the expanded public works programme and other associated
measures, many have been able to obtain work opportunities.

You would be aware that South Africa introduced its first ever
training layoff scheme with 2,9 billion rand being made available
for its implementation.

The scheme is aimed at providing companies with an alternative
to retrenching workers during a period of industrial slack caused
by recession thereby enabling employees to have continued income,
employment security and skills acquisition.

This scheme has been actively promoted as an alternative to
retrenchments.

The Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration
(CCMA) incorporated the training lay-offs into a holistic approach
to preventing job losses.

In total, 15 000 jobs have been saved since the scheme was
introduced.

Another key intervention includes the 6,1 billion rand set aside
by the Industrial Development Corporation as special loans for
firms in distress, and 2 billion rand allocated by the Unemployment
Insurance Fund to the IDC to be loaned to firms in distress.

The partners also approved development sector packages through
NEDLAC for industries in distress, such as the automobile, clothing
and textiles, capital equipment, transport equipment and metal
fabrication sectors.

The framework agreement leadership group also agreed on strict
conditions for businesses that use state funding to prevent abuse.

The conditions include restraint in relation to executive pay,
restrictions on retrenchment, commitment to local procurement and
social dialogue between labour and business at the workplace.

In a move to save jobs further, the South African Revenue
Service seized 750 tons of clothing and textile products that had
been smuggled into the country from raids on 88 premises conducted
in a nationwide enforcement initiative.

An estimated 1 400 jobs have been saved as a result of these
actions.

As a key poverty alleviation measure, the child support grant is
now being extended to children up to the age of 18.

Children who receive the child support grant over the age of 15
years are expected to be at school or college, and measures will be
taken to monitor this.

5. Mr J H van der Merwe (IFP) to ask the President of the
Republic:

(1) In respect of his refusal of 230 applications for pardon and
154 pending outcomes of the 384 applications that were made to him
in terms of Section 84(2) (j) of the Constitution, what are the
reasons for the refusal of each of the applications;

(2) whether he has called for any additional information and/or
documents other than the information contained in the applications
themselves to assist him to exercise his powers to grant or refuse
pardon; if not, why did he refuse the offer of additional
information by the applicants' attorney; if so, what information
and documents were placed before him to enable him to exercise his
power in each of the applications? NO758E
REPLY:

As the Honourable van der Merwe, correctly stated, Section
84(2)(j) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa
provides that the President is "responsible for pardoning or
reprieving offenders and remitting any fines, penalties of
forfeitures".

This is a power that has its origins in the prerogative powers
of the English monarch, but are powers exercised by the Presidents
of many countries - the United States of America, the Russian
Federation, France, Italy and Ireland are just some examples.

As the Honourable van der Merwe is aware, this is a power
exercised by the President as Head of State and not as Head of the
Executive.

The Constitutional Court has held that this is a power that
flows directly from the Constitution itself and unlike the other
powers of the President "they do not derive their authority from
and are not dependent on legislative enactments".

The Constitutional Court has also found that "the pardoning
power" is not a private act of grace in the sense that the
pardoning power in a monarchy may be. It is a recognition.. that a
power should be granted to the President to determine when, in his
view, the public welfare will be better served by granting a
remission of sentence or some other form of pardon."

Lastly whilst this power is not constrained by any legislation,
the Constitutional Court has made it clear that any conduct by the
President in exercising his or her pardoning powers that undermine
any provision of the Constitution is reviewable.

With regard to the applications that the Honourable Van der
Merwe refers to, I considered each of the applications individually
on its merits.

I also took into account all the information and documentation
supplied by each of the applicants, many of whom were represented
by the Honourable Van der Merwe's law firm.

I also considered all other relevant factors and information
including advice and recommendations from my advisors and other
relevant officials.

I concluded that 230 of the applications for pardons should not
be granted.

I do not, at this stage, intend to supply reasons for my
decisions.

I shall do so, at a later stage, should it become necessary.

I will consider the remaining 154 applications at the same time
that I work on the applications considered by the Multi-Party
Reference Group set up by former President Mbeki.

6. Mrs P de Lille (ID) to ask the President of the Republic:

Whether the national debate on morality (details furnished) that
he called for will include the morality of persons in and connected
to the Government benefiting financially from tenders; if not, why
not; if so, what are the relevant details? NO750E

REPLY:

Our Constitution promotes the concept of unity in diversity and
encourages us to be tolerant and to respect each other's cultures,
languages, religions and other distinctions.

I intend to initiate a national debate on morality so that we
can better appreciate the values that are shared across the
diversity of our cultures.

It is an opportunity also to understand those practices and
values that are peculiar to certain cultures.

The content of the debate, and the matters that will be raised
during the course of the debate, will depend on what is important
to the people of this country.

In my view, any discussion on a nation's morality should also
promote a culture of adherence to the rule of law, and should
strongly condemn the abuse of power in any form, something which,
as government, we promote.

We should also promote a culture of honesty and integrity in all
spheres of society.

Therefore, the principle that we should establish is that no
person should be able to derive undue financial benefit from the
State, by virtue of the public position they occupy.

This applies to elected public representatives and members of
the public service.

This has been the principle that has guided our efforts over the
last 16 years, through legislation and regulations, to prevent the
abuse of public funds.

We continually examine these measures, and, where there are
shortcomings, we take steps to address them.

We should be cautious, however, that our efforts to strengthen
these provisions do not inadvertently undermine the rights of any
citizen to engage in legitimate business activity, including with
the state.

We must also be careful not to make sweeping statements that
place legitimate business activities in the same basket as those
that may be unlawful or unethical.

I am certain that in the course of this debate, such
distinctions will become clearer, and we will be better equipped as
a nation to promote behaviour that we can all agree is ethical and
proper.

What has been the problem is that some people seem to regard
their cultural belief as the only one that is correct, and tend to
use this to judge others and impose their value system on them.

Where do they get this authority to judge others?

We therefore need a common conversation to arrive at a commonly
shared determination.